Call for Proposals: Middle East and Islamic Studies Workshop-Conference in San Francisco

General Objectives:
San Francisco State University's Middle East and Islamic Studies (MEIS) program
invites proposals for participation in a second annual California State
University (CSU) conference on Middle East and Islamic Studies to be held on the
campus of San Francisco State University. The conference is intended as a
successor to the CSU Fresno conference on "Teaching about the Middle East in the
21st century" held in October of 2008. The main objective of the 2009
conference is to bring scholars in the field of Middle East and Islamic Studies,
broadly defined to include North Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, and
Islamic civilizations and communities more generally, to share and collaborate
in their research interests (i.e. by working on edited collections, collective
grant proposals, or future conference panels and workshops, for instance for
MESA), as well as working on ways-electronically and otherwise-to disseminate
teaching ideas. With this in mind, the conference format will be workshops
designed to facilitate collaborative work and the building of formal or informal
research teams. Each workshop will have approximately 10 participants. Workshop
participants will present papers within the workshop format. The conference will
thus hold six different and concurrent workshops (see below) on a number
of different topics on October 16-17, 2009. Each set of workshop participants
will meet for a day and a half to produce a draft for a particular collective
project (course syllabi, grant proposals, proposals for edited collections,
panel proposals, thematic journal proposals, etc). Proposals are welcome from
faculty, advanced graduate students, and independent scholars both within and
outside the CSU system. Applicants are asked to send a statement with their area
of expertise and what they could substantively contribute to such a workshop.
Applicants are encouraged and welcome to gear their proposals directly toward a
particular workshop and avoid sending multiple copies of the same proposal to
different workshop coordinators. The deadline for the submission of the
proposal is May 1, 2009.

Workshop I: About That Other
Middle East (The Non-Muslim One)

Contact Person: Prof. Carel
Bertram, San Francisco State University

Description:
Turn the clock back 100 years or more and today's nation states of the Middle
East (writ large), which are almost all major players in today's world, had
completely different demographics. Although indisputably influenced (but go
ahead and dispute it by showing how it works the other way) by Islamic culture,
communities of Zoroastrians, Jews and Greek Orthodox, Assyrian and Armenian
Christians have at various periods been major, even dominant demographic and
cultural elements from Sa'na to Samarqand since the advent of Islam. And
before. Thus, the topic of this workshop is the history, role and stories of
the individual confessional communities that contradict the image of the Middle
East as coterminous with the world of Islam. Can this story be told without a
sole rhetoric of "resistance to the Arab and Islamic onslaught" [Mordechai
Nisan,] or can we speak of how memory of a shared past is made inclusionary or
exclusionary [Lewis]? Our goal is to find a resilient frame for this topic and
to present it accurately in its historic and contemporary, thematic and lived
diversity. We welcome work that explores historical or contemporary
communities, their strategies in relating to power, including maintaining a
sense of cohesion and identity through linguistic, geographic, religious or
other cultural means. Each strategy and each interaction with the majority or
ruling culture has its immediate and long-term consequences as well. Thus,
papers might follow specific groups as they move into new cultural conditions.
This includes, for example, Copts in Egypt in or over various periods; the
position of Mizrachi, Sepharidic and even Ashkenazi Jews in their historic
Middle Eastern homelands or in their exilic communities outside the Middle East
or in Israel; the position of former Ottoman millets, especially Ottoman Greeks
and Armenians in the new Turkey or other former Ottoman lands, and even the
relationship of exilic communities, those who have left the Middle East, as they
gaze back at their former/ancestral homes in terms of politics or identity.

Objectives:
To discuss our different approaches to this common theme, identify areas of
sensitivity and lacunae and have real and helpful conversations about how we can
best serve the field here. There are several possible outcomes of this
workshop, including an edited volume/journal on this "other Middle East" and/or,
a documentary film for teaching purposes, using our combined sources and
resources. This is not a closed objective; participants may offer or brainstorm
new ones, but participants will commit to a final product.

Abstract Submission Guidelines
and Deadline:
The applicants must submit a one-page (or clear and succinct) proposal, in which
they describe (1) the subject of their study; (2) the type of research they have
done to support it; (3). (even if it seems obvious) how their work fits in with
the topic "The Other Middle East: individual confessional communities that belie
the Middle East as coterminous with the world of Islam"; and (4) whether they
prefer collaborating on an edited volume/special journal issue or an educational
film. Please email with subject: MEIS WORKSHOP PROPOSAL by May 1, 2009 to
carel@sfsu.edu [Carel Berttram, Associate
Professor, Department of Humanities, SFSU] Dr. Bertram will acknowledge
receipt, so if you do not get an acknowledgement, please write again.
Applicants will be notified of the decision of the program committee by June 1,
2009. Full paper deadline and details to be advised after acceptance.

Workshop II: Iran: Thirty Years
after the Revolution

Contact Person: Prof. Sasan
Fayazmanesh, CSU-Fresno

Description:
2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. The
revolution changed Iran politically, transforming it from a monarchy to an
Islamic Republic. Hence, the 1979 revolution is also referred to as the "Islamic
Revolution." The political transformation, however, has not been the only
outcome of the revolution. The revolution has had profound effects in different
arenas, both inside and outside of Iran.

Internally, the
revolution influenced economic relations in Iran. It reconfigured class
structure, changed the labor laws and the direction of the labor movement in
Iran. It also affected Iran's economic performance, including the rate of growth
of gross domestic products, foreign direct investment, capital outlays in
different sectors of the economy-particularly the oil sector-unemployment rate,
rate of inflation, and exchange rate. In addition, the revolution has had a
profound effect on the role or status of distinct and identifiable groups within
the society, including women, students, and minorities. Moreover, the revolution
has influenced art, literature, culture, science and technology in Iran. Despite
many difficulties and barriers, the Iranian film industry has thrived,
scientific endeavors have flourished and technological advancements were made in
certain sectors of the economy.

Externally, the
Iranian revolution has drastically changed the relationship between Iran and
other countries. A closer relation has developed between Iran and some members
of the
Non-Aligned Movement. However, Iran's relation with
the United States, Israel and some European countries has deteriorated
considerably. Moreover, Iran has been under numerous unilateral sanctions by
the US since 1979. In the past few years it has also come under some unilateral
sanctions by the European countries. In addition, three multilateral sanction
resolutions have been imposed by the United Nations on Iran since 2006. These
sanctions have affected both Iran's economy and the economies of various
countries, particularly those that have targeted Iran.

Objectives:
The purpose of this workshop is to produce an edited volume on Iran, tentatively
titled Iran: Thirty Years after the Revolution. If the applicant's
proposal is accepted, s/he is required to present a rough draft (25-30 pages) of
the paper to the members of this workshop and exchange her/his views with other
participants by September 16, 2009. The workshop's coordinator will review the
papers and will return them to the presenters for submission of the final,
revised copy on February 15, 2010. Upon the compilation of all the papers, the
edited volume will be submitted for publication.

Abstract Submission Guidelines
and Deadline:
The applicants must submit a 300-word proposal, in which they describe their
project's working title and thesis statement, to Professor Sasan Fayazmanesh,
Department of Economics, California State University, Fresno, 5245 North Backer
Ave M/S 20, Fresno, CA 93740-8001 (telephone 559-278-2672, email:
sasanf@csufresno.edu) by May 1, 2009. Applicants will be notified of the
decision of the program committee by June 1, 2009.

Workshop III: Teaching the
Middle East through the Humanities: Representing the Region through Literature,
Art and Film

Contact Person: Prof. Persis M.
Karim, San Jose State University

Description:
Because many US-based college students have little or no exposure to the Middle
East, the arts and humanities provides an excellent opening to engage students
in the field and in the region as a whole. Organized by Professor Persis Karim
(San Jose State University), this workshop will bring together scholars of Art,
Literature and the Film to introduce strategies for teaching the Middle East
through the Humanities. The workshop participants will be asked to discuss some
of their teaching successes and will offer practical tools/suggestions for how
to select materials for a college-level audience, and to look at the ways that
the representations of art and culture can awaken a curiosity about the region
as whole. Some possible workshop topic might include: "Teaching Arab novels in
Translation"; "Teaching the History of Colonialism in the Region through
Literature"; "Contemporary Film and Culture from the Middle East"; "Using
Documentaries to Introduce the Region"; "How to Introduce Islam Using Film and
Art"; "Countering US Media Images of the Middle East by Using Art and Film in
the Classroom"; "Using Al-Jazeera and other Middle East Media Sources to Teach
the Middle East"; "Music and Art in the Teaching of the Middle East," and "Using
Diaspora Literature of Iran and the Arab World to Open the Doors of Learning to
Middle Eastern Studies.

Objectives:
The objectives of this workshop are to assist scholars and professors to share
innovative and thoughtful ways to introduce the region and its culture into a
multi-disciplinary university classroom Sample syllabi, examples of texts and
films, and other materials will be presented at the workshop. One objective of
the workshop is to develop website resources that can be used by MEIS to
disseminate information and can serve as a resource for college and university
professors interested in using humanities sources in their classrooms. In
addition to developing sample syllabi, workshop participants will be encouraged
to write testimonials and articles that address the particular challenges of
teaching Middle Eastern Studies to U.S.-based university students. A further
objective of this workshop is to propose a similar MESA-sponsored workshop at
its annual conference.

Abstract Submission and
Guidelines Deadline: Please submit a 300-word electronic (including a draft
sample syllabus and possible teaching materials) abstract for your presentation
by May 1, 2009 to Persis M. Karim, (pkarim@email.sjsu.edu),
Department of English and Comparative Literature, an Jose State
University/1 Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192/(408) 924-4476. Applicants
will be notified of the decision of the program committee by June 1, 2009.

Workshop IV: Islam in Mughal
Historiography

Contact Person: Prof. Santhi
Kavuri-Bauer, San Francisco State University

Description:
The Mughal Empire has always captured the imagination of people the world over.
Their architectural monuments are matchless, as are the music, art and poetry
they patronized. The Mughal Empire is also a source of great pride among Indians
as marking a period when their country was strong and the envy of the world. To
contend with this strong memory, the British rulers sought to reduce the entire
Mughal Empire to the policies of Akbar, an atypical Muslim ruler who sought to
combine Hindu and Muslim beliefs. Akbar's Din-i Ilahi, or Divine Faith,
has served as the template for every Indian government seeking to unite Hindus
and Muslims under one rule. After the British, Indian secularists adopted the
same narrative tropes of the Mughals and modeled their own power on their
conciliatory policies.

Most general histories of the
Mughal Empire written after Independence gave short shrift to the role of
religion in Mughal policies and social and cultural practices. Too often the
Islamic faith of the emperors and their nobles is reduced to certain isolated
events such as the building of a mosque or a shrine, or a visit to a Sufi
pilgrimage site. Alternatively, the heterodox policies of Akbar come to
overdetermine the constantly shifting religious allegiances of the Mughal
rulers.

Due to the secular academic
orientation of some scholars of modern Indian history and the popular
representations of the media, the Mughals' Islamic faith and practices are often
downplayed in favor of their more conciliatory religious projects. This
imbalance calls for a new dialogue among scholars of Mughal India regarding the
constitutive position of Islam in the Mughal Empire.

Objectives:
This workshop seeks to initiate such a dialogue, produce critical questions and
propose new directions of research. Each participant is expected to present a
six to ten-page paper outlining a strategy for properly assessing the place of
Islam in Mughal history, or they are welcome to present research already
conducted on this subject.

Abstract Submission and
Guidelines Deadline:
Applicants should submit a 200-word abstract of their project to Santhi
Kavuri-Bauer, Art Department, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway
Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121 or e-mail it to
santhi@sfsu.edu. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2009.

Workshop V: Human Rights in the
Middle East and the Muslim World

Contact Person: Prof. Mahmood
Monshipouri, San Francisco State University

Description:
There is relatively little prospect of eliminating all obstacles to protecting
human rights in the twenty-first century. Applying universal human rights
standards to the Middle East and Asia is far from simple. One of the most
daunting tasks facing the international human rights community is how a
commitment to the full range of human rights is possible given the Middle
Eastern and Asian countries' unequal economic and political circumstances and
priorities. The human rights movement must come to grips with the question of
how best to improve human rights in the Muslim world given the realities and
dynamics of the state system of international relations. Global standards must
be enforced while taking into account the complexity and diversity of security
considerations as well as socioeconomic and cultural contexts. This workshop
blends thematic, historical, and contemporary issues of human rights in the
Middle East and Asia. It consists of three parts:

Part I:
Framing the Human Rights Discourse in the Middle East: (women, minorities,
political economy, theology, Islamism, secularism). This part is thematic and
focuses on how the dominant discourses and issues of human rights in the Middle
East are framed.

Part II:
The Regional and Case Studies (the Arab world, Central Asia, Iran, and Turkey).
This section examines human rights within local, national, and regional
contexts. By contextualizing human rights issues, a comparative study would
emerge denoting marked differences and stark similarities in the region.

Part III:
Tools and Strategies (Collective action, legal empowerment, advocacy, and social
movements). This section examines the ways in which human rights issues can be
better protected. Strategies, such as protests, demonstration, participation,
boycotts, communications, and the like are assessed and promoted.

Objectives:
The purpose of this workshop is to produce an edited volume on the subject. If
the applicant's proposal is accepted, s/he is required to present a rough draft
(25-30 pages) of the paper to the members of this workshop and exchanged her/his
views with other participants by September 16, 2009. The workshop's coordinator
will review the papers and will return them to the presenters for the submission
of the final, revised copy by February 15, 2010. Upon the compilation of all
the papers, the edited volume will be submitted for the publication.

Abstract Submission Guidelines
and Deadline:
The applicants must submit a 300-word electronic, in which they describe their
project's working title and thesis statement, to Professor Mahmood Monshipouri,
mmonship@sfsu.edu., Department of International Relations, San Francisco State
University, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94132 by May 1, 2009.
Applicants will be notified of the decision of the program committee by June 1,
2009.

Workshop VI: State-Society
Relations in North Africa, the Middle East, and Muslim Asia

Contact Person: Prof. Nicole
Watts, San Francisco State University

Description:
Like no other state in history, the modern state seeks to transform society into
an image of its own making and to harness its citizens' productive power for its
own benefit. States in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia
have, like those all over the world, attempted this feat, with varying degrees
of success and failure. This workshop examines state efforts to dominate society
in these areas and the myriad ways that social groups have resisted, assisted,
and otherwise modified state rule. A main point of the workshop is to move away
from persistent popular and academic images of the state as a monolithic
institution ruling over a pliant and largely helpless society, and towards more
sophisticated understandings of the ways that states (and parts of states) and
societies (and parts of them) affect each other around the Middle East, North
Africa, and Asia.

Objectives:
In particular, the workshop will seek to "disaggregate" the state and explore
how different parts and levels of the state may work in opposition to one
another (as well as in a coordinated fashion), and how different social groups
interact both in conflict and cooperation with state institutions to affect
policy outcomes in predictable and unpredictable ways. Examples might be
activists' use of the courts to challenge regimes (even in authoritarian
contexts), how different administrative levels of a bureaucracy might work in
different ways (thus producing unexpected policy outcomes), how alliances
between social movement actors and parts of states might re-shape local norms or
change political dynamics, etc . Potential participants should note that the
topic is grounded in theoretically diverse but topically linked studies on
state-society relations by scholars such as Joel Migdal, Rogers Brubaker,
Timothy Mitchell, and others. These theorists will be used to inform our
discussion but are by no means exclusive.

Abstract Submission Guidelines
and Deadline:
Applicants are asked to submit a succinct proposal statement of approximately
600-900 words. The proposal should contain: (1) the subject of their study; (2)
the type of research done to support it; (3) how your work fits in with the
workshop topic "State Society Relations" (even if it seems obvious) and any
particular theorists you use to inform your work; (4) your interest in working
on any of the following: an edited volume, a grant proposal, a thematic journal
proposal, course syllabi, or an educational documentary film. Other suggestions
for collaborative work are also welcome. For inquiries and to submit proposals,
please email with subject: MEIS WORKSHOP PROPOSAL by May 1, 2009 to
nfwatts@sfsu.edu (Asst. Professor Nicole Watts, Department of Political
Science, SFSU). Prof. Watts will acknowledge receipt, so if you do not get an
acknowledgement, please write again. Please do NOT submit hard-copy
proposals. Applicants will be notified of the decision of the program committee
by June 1, 2009.